Mortal Shell 2 Devs Explain Why an 'Easy Mode' Item Locked Players Out of Achievements
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Cold Symmetry explains that Mortal Shell 2 locking out achievements for 'easy mode' Slayer Seal users was an accidental result of physical disc manufacturing constraints.
The launch of Mortal Shell 2 brought plenty of brutal combat and exploration, but it also sparked a heated debate over achievements. Players who equipped the Slayer Seal, widely marketed as an in-game easy mode that grants heavy-hitting punches and ranged break damage, quickly realized it disabled their ability to earn Steam and console achievements. Naturally, this led to plenty of forum threads debating whether players should be penalized for using built-in tools to temper the game's famous difficulty.
As recently reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, developer Cold Symmetry addressed the backlash in a video interview, clarifying that the lockout was actually an accidental byproduct of physical manufacturing constraints. Co-founder Andrew McLennan-Murray explained that the studio originally wanted to create an entirely separate, mutually exclusive set of achievements specifically for Slayer Seal runs to encourage replayability. However, because the console disc versions had to be pressed months in advance, those achievement lists were locked in stone before the team could implement the alternative tracking.
Left cornered by the realities of simultaneous digital and physical publishing, the team had to disable achievements globally for Seal users without their intended replacement system ready to go. McLennan-Murray noted that Cold Symmetry is now looking into potential fixes, including dedicated accessibility tools and possible new achievement sets in future free updates. It is a solid reminder of how physical supply chains can unexpectedly tie the hands of modern developers trying to patch player feedback on the fly.
Tags: Mortal Shell 2, PC Gaming, Console Gaming, RPG, Soulslike
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun